Spain’s Repsol YPF said it will mark the opening of its Canaport liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal Thursday. The project is due to receive what will be the first LNG cargo delivered to Canada.

The first LNG shipment is on its way from Trinidad to the Canaport facility at Mispec Point, near Saint John, NB, and is expected to arrive Saturday, according to press reports.

The Canaport facility has sendout capacity of 1 Bcf/d. Regasified LNG will travel through the Brunswick Pipeline to the New Brunswick-Maine border for delivery to the New England market via Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC. In January Maritimes placed in service its Phase IV expansion to carry regasified LNG from Canaport (see Daily GPI, Jan. 6).

Last year Repsol Energy Canada Ltd. was approved for a 25-year license to import LNG at Canaport and a separate 25-year license to export regasified LNG to the U.S. Northeast by Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) (see Daily GPI, Sept. 9, 2008; Sept. 8, 2008). Canaport LNG LP is a partnership of Repsol and Canada’s Irving Oil.

Irving Oil first sought approval for the project in the summer of 2001 (see Daily GPI, July 26, 2001). Irving and Repsol formed Canaport LNG in 2005 (see Daily GPI, June 8, 2005) and began construction on the terminal shortly thereafter (see Daily GPI, Sept. 13, 2005).

Repsol said it would provide more details on the project’s opening at a press conference in New York City Thursday.

Canaport’s completion comes when another LNG project — a transshipment and storage terminal proposed for Newfoundland — has been put on hold (see Daily GPI, June 16).

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